Trouble With Silver Balayage? These 4 Tips Will Help!

4 Tips To Help You Master Silver Balayage

Perfecting gray and silver balayage is a challenge—these tones require a light, ashy end result, and balayage is a technique that inherently produces warm tones. Starting with a dark base or attempting to achieve the look in one process both add to the challenge. Thankfully, Matrix artist Constance Robbins (@constancerobbins) spilled four tips for mastering metallic balayage to help her followers understand the tricks for getting it right. Check ‘em out!

Products Used

Bond Builders

BOND Ultim8

Matrix

Blonde

Brass Off Total Results

Matrix

Use A Foilayage Technique

• A silver end result requires prelightened hair to be the same shade as the inside of a banana peel.
• Achieving that prelightened level on darker bases means plastic, meche or open-air balayage won’t work—these techniques are appropriate for lighter clients, but will not provide enough lifting power on dark hair.
• Instead, use a foilayage technique to ensure strong head conduction and to lift the hair quickly. 

Bump Up The Developer

• “Don’t be afraid to go high with your volume,” says Constance.
• In the photo above, she uses 40-volume on the new growth and 20-volume on the client’s previously-lightened ends.
• Don’t forget to use a bonder to help protect the hair—Constance prefers to use Matrix Bond Ultim8.

Pre-Tone The Hair

• Pre-toning the hair offers more control when finalizing the color.
• Constance uses the Matrix Brass Off Mask to pre-tone when creating a silver balayage because it’s stronger than a purple shampoo.

Use More Than One Toning Formula

• If prelightened hair isn’t one solid canvas, then use more than one toning formula to address different sections. Using just one formula could create a brassy new growth and overly-tone the ends.

• For this look, Constance toned with three formulas:

  • Formula A (base): 4A + 10-volume developer

  • Formula B (mids): 6A + 8P + Blue Concentrate + 10-volume developer

  • Formula C (ends): Mixed Metals Gray + 10P + 10-volume developer

Want more tips like this? Check out Constance’s secrets for mastering ashy blondes!